"And then what happened?"
Kawakawa Shuma was clearly intrigued and leaned in, eager for more.
"The pursuit went smoothly," Nao explained. "Their warship caught the pirates at a small island port and completely surrounded them. It was a decisive win."
"But just before the battle ended, one of the pirate crew's vice-captains, bitter over their defeat and determined to go down swinging, used his Devil Fruit powers to bypass the blockade and break into the docked Marine ship…"
"Once aboard, he slaughtered the remaining guards and support personnel stationed there."
Nao took another sip of water, paused, and continued:
"The elite camp recruits assigned to Rear Admiral Buma's ship were close by. They noticed the disturbance on deck."
"But instead of returning to help, they chose to chase after a few pirate officers who were already cornered and had no way out—just to claim more battle merit."
Shuma froze mid-bite, eyes wide with disbelief.
"In the end, everyone left on the ship was killed. The ship itself was set ablaze and suffered devastating losses."
Nao sighed.
"Those elite recruits were scolded harshly by their instructors for suspected dereliction of duty… but because there wasn't solid proof, they weren't punished. And all the heads they claimed in that battle still counted toward their official merits."
"Rear Admiral Buma is fiercely protective of her subordinates. After a disaster like that, it's no surprise she developed such a harsh view of HQ's so-called elite recruits."
"That's… awful…"
Shuma, kindhearted and naive by nature, took a while to process it. His face twisted in discomfort.
"Scum like that... and they still got into the elite camp? Still became Marines?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Nao said dryly.
"Not only that, I hear most of them are doing pretty well."
"Their leader was a guy named Draw. Word is, he's already a Marine captain at the G6 Branch."
Nao couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Shuma had never heard of this Draw guy—but Nao knew the name well.
In the future, this man would become a Marine Vice Admiral. And in one battle, in the name of speed and efficiency, he would set a blaze so massive it engulfed innocent civilians without hesitation. That act of cruelty would trigger Ace's fury—and it was during that same battle that Ace awakened his Haki for the first time.
So it didn't surprise Nao at all that someone like Draw had already pulled such callous stunts during his recruit days.
"So basically… we're stuck cleaning up after Draw's mess," Shuma muttered angrily, crushing his bread wrapper in frustration.
"Still, that doesn't give Rear Admiral Buma the right to take it out on us. We just got here! We haven't even done anything!"
"Prejudice is like a mountain," Nao said calmly.
"Judging people unfairly is something we all fall into—it's human nature. Especially with trauma like that in her past, you can't really blame her."
Shuma fell silent.
"All we can do is stay true to ourselves. Once we've worked with her a while, she'll realize we're not like them."
Nao gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Anyway, forget about that. Let me tell you about the Hawkeye Pirates."
"Yeah," Shuma grunted, still fuming but trying to focus.
"The Hawkeye Pirates have around seven to eight hundred members. Compared to other crews, they're a bit unusual—most of the crew are women."
Nao paused, expression turning odd.
"Before going to sea, they were part of a bandit group from the East Blue. They specialize in horseback riding and archery."
Funny to run into fellow East Blue folk this way.
"Their captain is named Missaya. Her 'Hawkeye' nickname comes from her being a Zoan-type user—she ate the Black Hawk Fruit. She can fly over the sea, making her incredibly hard to pin down."
"She's been surrounded and ambushed several times before, but every time, she's escaped easily thanks to her flight."
"Whoa! That sounds awesome!"
Shuma's eyes lit up, his energy returning at once.
"Alright! I've decided—she's my target!"
"…"
Nao gave him a deadpan look.
"Her bounty is 93 million Berries. That's higher than Crocodile's was when he first became a Warlord."
"...Forget I said anything." Shuma deflated instantly.
Seriously, what is this kid thinking? Did he come along without even asking what kind of pirates they'd be facing?
Enemies that required a Marine rear admiral to personally command a standard large-scale warship weren't going to be pushovers.
"Don't get too discouraged," Nao added, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.
"You're not going to beat her—but a few of her officers have bounties over ten million. Taking down one or two of them could be a solid challenge for you."
"Do your best. Hopefully, you can pick off one of those guys and not end up empty-handed."
"Yeah! I will, Boss!"
Shuma nodded fiercely, clenching his fists in determination.
…Wait.
He suddenly froze.
"Pick off"? "Empty-handed"…?
"…Boss Nao, what exactly did you mean by that…?"
Meanwhile—out on the open sea, just after a heavy storm.
A pirate ship with black sails drifted slowly along the current, following the direction of its Log Pose.
Beneath the towering lookout tower, stretched out under the Jolly Roger, lay a woman in full black attire, long legs crossed, lazily sunbathing.
She looked to be in her twenties. Her fiery red hair was striking, and her face—despite its beauty—was marred by a vertical scar running from her forehead to her nose, giving her a fierce, dangerous aura.
"It's already been two days…"
Something was clearly gnawing at her. The red-haired woman frowned and called down to her subordinates:
"Still no word from Prince William?"
"No, Captain," a tall, slender woman beneath the mast replied.
"We've tried to contact him several times, but there's been no response. Maybe he's off doing one of his underground fight gigs again."
"Yeah, His Highness is always like that," another subordinate added with a smile.
"We've already set the terms of the deal. He'll show up by the end of the month. No need to worry."
"You don't understand."
This red-haired woman—Missaya, captain of the Hawkeye Pirates—rubbed her temples with irritation.
"I've been on edge these past two days. I've got a really bad feeling—like something's going to go horribly wrong before the trade even happens…"
Her two officers fell silent, exchanging worried glances.
They had followed Missaya since their days as mountain bandits in the East Blue.
Ever since she ate the Black Hawk Fruit, she'd gained not just the speed and flight of a falcon, but a predator's sixth sense—an uncanny intuition for danger.
And every time she'd had a bad feeling like this, it had come true.
"Captain Missaya!"
Suddenly, from the lookout tower above, a panicked voice shouted down:
"Bad news! At seven o'clock—there's a Marine warship approaching!"
"What?"
Missaya and her officers immediately rushed to the mast and scanned the sea.
Sure enough, a large Marine ship with white sails was closing in fast.
"G2…"
One of the women squinted at the markings on the sail and blanched.
"Captain, it's from the G2 Branch… this won't be easy."
As pirates who'd been operating in the Grand Line for years, they knew better than most how dangerous a "G-Branch" Marine force was.
Normal Marine ships? They wouldn't just fight—they'd charge in for the thrill.
But a G-Branch?
That required serious caution.
Especially G2. Rumor had it that its newly appointed commander, Borsalino, was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user with terrifying strength. If he was on board, they wouldn't even have a chance to flee.
"What now, Captain?" another woman asked nervously.
"Do we fight or flee?"
"Flee?"
Missaya narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased.
"You haven't even seen who's in charge over there, and you're already talking about running? What does that make us?"
"Then…?"
"Approach them first," Missaya said coldly, her eyes locked on the rapidly closing ship.
"If I spot a G2 vice admiral on that deck, we'll retreat. No shame in that."
"But if there isn't…"
She licked her lips, and a twisted, bloodthirsty glint shone in her eyes.
"Then it's those poor Marines who'll be out of luck…"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin